The Ryan Vs. Biden Debate: The Rumble With The Bumble

After the terrific beating that Mitt Romney laid on Barack Obama in their first debate, the mainstream media had the headline for the debate already written, “Biden soundly defeats Ryan.” They even had the moderator they wanted. Not only is Martha Raddatz a liberal, Barack Obama even attended one of her weddings (Incidentally, she was an awful moderator, who was heavily biased towards Biden).

Let me also note something else that a lot of conservatives would probably disagree with: Joe Biden may be incredibly gaffe prone, but he has some charisma and he’s experienced. In fact, he gave one of the best speeches overall at the Democratic National Convention. So all in all, Biden is probably a better debater than Obama.

In many respects, he even did a good job. He was aggressive, he took lots of shots at Romney/Ryan, and he did a decent job of trying to change the subject from the Obama Administration’s record to wild allegations that he was making against the Romney campaign. Unfortunately for him, Paul Ryan also did a good job. He was aggressive, competent, and had an almost unlimited number of targets to work with given the Obama Administration’s record.

Based on sheer content, it was close to a draw (although I’d have to say Ryan won by a nose), but Ryan ended up winning by a significant margin because Joe Biden was just BIZARRE. He was like a combination of a frat boy mixed with Jim Carrey faces.

Ryan came across as knowledgable, competent and presidential. Biden came across as strange, angry, and amateurish.

So, Ryan didn’t blow this one open, but he did win and came across as a serious, sober, qualified man. While this debate probably won’t cause a big shift in and of itself, it is helpful because it cements in the idea that Romney and Ryan are a genuine alternative to Obama/Biden. They’re not scary, radical, or about to push granny off a cliff. To the contrary, if you’re looking for evidence that Romney/Ryan can shoulder the load of governance, these two debates show that they’re men who can be trusted with that responsibility. If that’s the impression Ryan wanted to make, it was mission accomplished.